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Yorkshire pub closes after 460 years

The Windmill Inn in the North Yorkshire village of Linton has closed after operating as a pub for more than four and a half centuries.

Opened in 1564, when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne, The Windmill Inn, which is owned by Heineken UK’s Star Pubs, has had its troubles in recent years.

After the closure of the Linton Bridge due to the 2015 Boxing Day floods, the pub’s turnover reportedly dropped by 35% as it had become less accessible to its customer base, though the bridge was reopened 18 months later.

The Windmill Inn’s closure this month has come about because the tenants who took over after a long-serving landlady wished to leave, as the pub’s general manager told Leeds Live: “It’s come to the end of the contract with the people here, at the moment. They just didn’t want to continue.”

The general manager, whose name was given as Craig, also added that it is proving to be a brutal winter for the pub sector as a whole: “It’s just the industry as a whole. I’ve been doing this for 37 years and have never seen anything like it. I’ve got three friends who have closed their pubs in the last four weeks. They’re staffed all over Yorkshire and they’re very successful pubs.”

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It is understood that there is a possibility that the pub could reopen soon if new tenants are found.

Star Pubs said in a statement: “The Windmill was leased to an independent operator to run as their own business. Regrettably they have closed the pub and decided to cease trading.”

“We are working to get it reopened as quickly as possible and are delighted with the level of interest we have had already from experienced operators – it’s a gorgeous pub in a lovely village,” the statement added.

The Linton Residents’ Association is also reportedly considering acquiring the pub itself, should it not reopen and become “mothballed”.

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